From Science to the Barn: What We Know About Feed Gaps
Whether you’re managing a 2,400-head finishing barn or a 6,000-sow farrow-to-wean, the assumption is that if the bin has feed, the pigs are eating. But what if they’re not?
Feed outages—defined as either full-blown empty feeders or subtle inconsistencies in delivery—remain one of the most under-diagnosed performance problems in swine production.
Two decades ago, Brumm et al. (2005) showed that out-of-feed (OOF) events in grow-finish (GF) pigs could delay market weight by a full day or more. At the time, feed interruptions were usually obvious and tied to major mechanical failures or power issues. But today’s barns, with automated systems and fewer people walking pens, face a new kind of OOF event: the hidden kind.
“Just because the last switch turns off the auger doesn’t mean the first five feeders got filled,” explains Chris Elvidge, Pig-Tek’s COO and Lead Engineer. “That’s the issue with dead-end systems—you’re trusting a single sensor to tell you the whole barn’s been fed.”
Grow-Finish: Hidden Feed Gaps, Hidden Costs
In modern GF systems, pigs are often grouped by body weight or flow stage, making it challenging to identify variability in feed intake. Add in variable bin moisture, fines, and feeder design—and you’ve got the perfect storm for inconsistent intake.
The 2007 study by Linneen et al. revealed that a single out-of-feed event in nursery pigs had a significant impact on average daily gain (ADG) during the affected period. That effect, while more subtle in heavier pigs, still leads to skewed closeouts, poor uniformity, and economic loss, especially when marketing under tight packer specs.
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